2017 Cooke Prize Winner: UNC-Chapel Hill

Approximately 22 percent of UNC-Chapel Hill's 18,500 undergraduate students are eligible for Pell Grants. The university provides low-debt, full-need student financial aid and admits students on a need-blind basis. Its Carolina Covenant program provides debt-free financial aid for the lowest-income students. In addition to helping to pay for tuition, fees, and room and board, financial aid is available for travel, health insurance, personal expenses, books and supplies.

State University No More

Although the admissions practices of private selective colleges are frequently featured in media coverage, public flagship universities enroll seven times as many Pell Grant recipients. However, these "engines of social mobility" are increasingly crowding out high-achieving, low-income students.

True Merit

Representation of low-income students at selective colleges and universities has not changed in ten years despite selective institutions' well-advertised, increased commitment to "need-blind admissions" and "no-loan financial aid" packages. All the while, the value of attending a selective college or university is clear, including higher graduation rates and higher pay for the individual, and greater productivity for the country.

Harold O. Levy at National Governors' Association Summer Meeting

Speaking before the National Governors' Association (NGA) Education and Workforce Committee during the NGA's 2015 Summer Meeting on Saturday, Cooke Foundation Executive Director Harold O. Levy warned the nation's governors of the threat the Excellence Gap poses to the strength of the American workforce.

Highlights from the 2015 Principal Convening

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation convened 100 principals of selective public high schools from across the country to address how we can better support and advocate for high-achieving, low-income students and close the widening Excellence Gap, the disparity in the percent of lower-income versus higher-income students who reach advanced levels of academic performance.

Can Excellence Gap in US Education Be Closed?

Harold Levy, executive director of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, discusses his foundation's goal to close the "excellence gap" in grades K-12 through scholarships and grants for innovative initiatives that support high-performing, low-income students.

The Cooke Prize for Equity in Educational Excellence

The Cooke Prize for Equity in Educational Excellence is the largest award in the nation recognizing a college making strides in enrolling low-income students and supporting them to successful graduation.

Close The Gap

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is working to address how we can better support and advocate for high-achieving, low-income students and close the widening Excellence Gap, the disparity in the percent of lower-income versus higher-income students who reach advanced levels of academic performance.